By Larry Bergman, Barnes Area Historical Association

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s May, 2024 Newsletter edition. Photos courtesy Barnes Area Historical Association

The Barnes Area Historical Association (BAHA) is located in Barnes, Wisconsin, and was the home of the Old Duck Hunters Association (ODHA). Gordon MacQuarrie was a prolific outdoor writer of the early to mid-1900’s and he created this prestigious group, whose waterfowling escapades were the subject so many of his great magazine stories as well as his column (Right Off The Reel) in the Milwaukee Journal from 1936-1956. MacQuarrie is known as one of the best outdoor writers of his time and his stories are legendary and can be enjoyed over and over again. His cabin on the Middle Eau Claire Lake, built with vertical logs, is still in good condition to this day.

The BAHA Museum has an extensive exhibit of Gordon’s memorabilia and equipment, such as his duck boat, decoys, typewriter, awards and much more from the life of this man. BAHA offers a membership called the ODHA Circle that presently has members from 28 states, Canada and even one member in China. BAHA holds an annual Gordon MacQuarrie Pilgrimage in August, with this year’s event scheduled for August 23rd – 25th. It includes a road tour and a lake tour, visiting many of the places MacQuarrie wrote about in his stories. A canoe tour on the Brule River is also an option for event guests. The event is filled with displays and interaction with MacQuarrie throughout and concludes with a banquet.

An annual magazine sent to members of the ODHA Circle contains columns, articles and information about the people and places that Gordon writes about, but is careful not to identify and leaves much to one’s imagination. Those mysteries are solved with our research into his work. BAHA also has published four books that are compilations of Gordon’s magazine stories and his newspaper columns about the ODHA. These books contain all the stories that did not get into the famous Zach Taylor Trilogy of Stories of the Old Duck Hunters and Other Drivel. The books are for sale and you can find more informatPreview (opens in a new tab)ion about all of this on the BAHA website – bahamuseum.org.